Field
The present disclosure relates generally to propulsion mechanisms for bicycles; more particularly to propulsion mechanisms for bicycles that propel the bicycle wheels by rectilinear reciprocation of the pedals.
Background
Conventional bicycles use a common propulsion mechanism consisting of pedal on a crank driving a round crank gear that is connected to sprockets by a chain that drives the rear wheel of the bike. While this common mechanism has been generally successful, it has some shortcomings. For instance, the circular motion of the pedals is less efficient because the drive is only able to produce maximum power during the time in which the rider's tibia is perpendicular to the crank. That is, because torque is maximized when the direction of the foot's force and the direction of the crank are perpendicular, maximum torque is only achieved once per crank revolution on a conventional bicycle. Thus, it is difficult to produce a bicycle propulsion system that allows the rider to power the bicycle with a crank mechanism that maximizes torque, moves fluidly, uses a mechanism with relatively few parts in order to generate greater power than a conventional bicycle power drive, and maintains the same feel operational feel of a conventional bicycle.